mitchell



Feb. 28, 1956 o. MITCHELL 2,736,059

AUTOMATIC CONTROL EOE COTTON PROCESSING EQUIPMENT Filed Aug. 15, 1951 /6/0 Raus/4me MACH/#5^ Mm f l 1 50 UP CE /S TR/BUTOR TOWER DR/ER\ 60/PHaDLE 50 Hor H/R HND Corro N- .56 `5Z 2,2

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COTTO/V anw/PER QA/o mf? 50c T/o/v W 40 Ez' SEPA RA Tof? 5/6 L T f f WZZ .2. HOM/R WQGON COTTON FLOW FROM .SEPA RETO@ HTraR/VE Ys UnitedStates Patent-r AUTOMATIC CONTRL FOR COTTON PRUCESSING EQUIPMENT OrvilleMitchell, Dallas, Tex., assignor to John Mitchell Company, Dallas, Tex.,a corporation of Missouri Application August 15, 1951, Serial No.242,026

5 Claims. (Cl. 19-69) The present invention relates generally to thecleaning and processing of mechanically picked cotton, and moreparticularly to an automatic control for controlling the ow of uncleanedcotton into the processing equipment so that the amount entering theequipment does not exceed the capacity of the gin stands.

As is well known to' those familiar with the cotton cleaning art, theuncleaned cotton is picked up from wagons by means of a suction pipe orpipes, is carried through various pieces of equipment to dry and cleanit, and then passes to a distributor which distributes the cotton tofeeder-extractors which feed clean cotton into gin stands disposed belowthem. 'Unfortunately, it is diflicult for the men operating the suctionpipes in the wagon yard to accurately estimate the amount of uncleanedcotton which is being fed into the processing equipment with the resultthat quite often more cotton is sucked up than can be handled by the ginstands. When this occurs, the excess cotton ilows out of the end of thedistributor and into the overow stall and must again pass through theprocessing equipment.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a novelautomatic control for stopping the flow of cotton into the cleaningequipment when the amount of cotton in the distributor exceeds theamount that can be handled by the gin stands. More particularly, it isan object to provide a control which automatically cuts off the suctionat the inlet when the cotton flows from the outlet of the distributorinto the overow stall or when the cotton in the last hopper reaches apredetermined level.

Another object is to provide an automatic control which stops the ow ofcotton into the equipment when the amount of cotton in the distributorexceeds the amount which can be handled by the gin stands and which, atthe same time, energizes a warning device to indicate that too muchuncleaned cotton is being fed into the equipment.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention Will be apparentfrom the detailed description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention isshown.

The present invention is used with cotton processing equipment whichincludes a suction pipe for conveying the cotton from the wagon andintroducing it into the separator, and a distributor for feeding thecotton into the gin stands, and, broadly comprises means for controllingthe vacuum in the suction pipe responsive to the level of the cotton inthe last hopper or to the position of a paddle pivotally mounted in theoverliow outlet of the distributor, so as to stop the flow of cottoninto the equipment when cotton lills the last hopper or flows from theoverllow outlet. A signal, of either the visual or audible type, is alsoconnected to the pivotally mounted paddle so as to indicate when morecotton is being fed into the equipment than can be handled by the ginstands.

p 2,736,069 Patented Feb. 28, 1956 CCY In the drawing, Fig. l is aschematic top plan View of a conventional cotton processing plantemploying an automatic control embodying the teachings of the presentinvention and which is responsive to the ow of the cotton from theovertlow outlet of the distributor; and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the end of thedistributor and its overilow outlet and illustrates the use of apressure switch in the last hopper to control the flow of uncleanedcotton into the system.

Referring to the drawing more particularly by reference numerals,specifically Fig. 1, 10 designates generally a conventional cottonprocessing plant provided with an automatic control responsive to theflow of cotton from the overflow outlet of the distributor, andgenerally indicated by the numeral 11.

The processing plant includes a first separator 12, a tower drier 14, aroughing machine 16, a second separator 17, and a distributor 18 whichis disposed over a plurality of feeder-extractors and gin stands 20. Thedistributor 18 is provided with an overow outlet 19 which is positionedover an overflow stall 22 which catches the overow from the distributorwhen the cotton entering it exceeds the amount which can be handled bythe gin stands 20. n

A suction pipe 24 is connected to one side of the separator 12. Thispipe contains an inlet portion 26 disposed in the overflow stall 22, andan inlet portion 28 positioned in the wagon yard so that it can beworked around in the Wagon W by the operators.

A suction fan 32 is connected to the other side of the separator 12 bymeans of a pipe 34, and a damper valve 36 is contained in the pipe 34for controlling the flow of air through it. The damper valve 36 isnormally biased toward the open position and is closed by means of anelectric motor 38 which forms part of the automatic control 11. Themotor 38 is responsive to the How conditions in the equipment so as toclose the damper valve 36 and stop the introduction of cotton into theseparator when the amount of cotton in the distributor exceeds theamount which can be accommodated by the gin stands, as will be describedmore fully hereinafter.

A hot air inlet pipe 40 leads into the bottom of the separator 12, and apipe 42 leads therefrom and connects the bottom of the separator 12 withthe top of the tower drier 14. A pipe 44 leads from the bottom of thetower drier 14 and is connected to the inlet of the roughing machine 16,and the outlet of the roughing machine 16 is connected by a pipe 46 tothe inlet of the second separator 17 which, in turn, is connected to thedistributor 18.

The control 11 for automatically controlling the flow of cotton into theprocessing equipmentincludes a paddle 48 which is pivotally mounted inthe overflow outlet 19 of the distributor 18. The paddle 48 isconnectedto a micro-switch 50 and a dash pot 52. It is desirable that the paddle48 be actuated only by a steady flow of cotton out of the overilow 19and this is accomplished by the dash pot 52 which prevents a suddenswinging movement which might be caused by a momentary or falseoverflow.

One side of the micro-switch 50 is connected to one side of a source ofelectric power 54 by a conductor 56, and the other side of themicro-switch 50 is connected to one side of the motor 38 by a conductorS8. A conductor 60 connects the other side of the motor 38 with theother side of the power source 54. Thus, when the switch 50 is closed,the motor 38 is energized so as to move the damper valve 36 to the fullyclosed position and stop the flow of air to the suction fan 32.

An electrically operated signal 62 is located in the wagon yard in thevicinity of the operators working the suction inlet 28 so 'as to warnthemwhen an excessive amount of cotton is being fed into the processingequip- 3 ment. The signal 62 is connected in parallel with theconductors 58 and 60 by conductors 64 and 66, respectively, and ispreferably of the audible and visible type, although it can be eitheraudible or visible.

Operation 'During normal operation, the damper valve 36 is maintained inthe open position by the biasing means so that the suction fan 32 causesa vacuum at the ends of pipes 26 and 28 which draws the unclean cottonfrom the overflow stall 22 and wagon W and causes it to enter into theseparator 12. In the separator 12, the unclean cotton is separated fromthe air and drops downwardly into a receiver (not shown) below theseparator. The air passes out of the separator, through the pipe 34 andpast the damper valve 36 and into the suction 'fan 32.

Heated air enters the pipe 4t) and picks up the cotton from the receiverlocated below the separator and carries it through the pipe 42 into thetop of the tower drier 14. The cotton then passes downwardly through thetower drier 14 and out through the pipe 44 into the roughing machine 16.The cotton leaves the roughing machine and passes through the pipe 46and into the distributor 18 which distributes and feeds the cotton tothe various gin stands 2t? disposed below.

lf the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 exceeds the amount whichcan be handled by the gin stands 20, the excess cotton will ilow out ofthe overow outlet 19 and fall into the overflow stall 22. If there ismerely a short sudden overflow, the dash pot 52 will prevent movement ofthe paddles 48. However, if the overow is appreciable and sustained, thepaddle 48 will pivot outwardly and cause the micro-switch S0 to close.When this occurs, an electrical circuit is made to the motor 38 from oneside of the power source 54 through the conductor 56, the microswitch50, the conductor 58, the motor 38, and back to the other side of thepower source 54 through the conductor 60. When the motor 38 isenergized, it actuates the damper valve 36 so as to cause it to closethe pipe 34, thereby interrupting the vacuum in pipes 24 and pipes 26and 28. This prevents additional cotton from being sucked up into theseparator 12 and from being introduced into the air stream passingthrough the pipe 42, thereby stopping the overloading of the distributor18 so as to prevent the cotton from falling into the overflow stall 22.

Simultaneously with the completion of the electrical circuit through themotor 38 by means of the closing of the microswitch 58, a second circuitis completed through the signal 62 so as to inform the operators in thewagon yard that an excessive amount of cotton is being fed into theprocessing equipment. The circuit to the signal device 62 is made fromone side of the power source 54 through the conductor 56, themicro-switch 54B, the conductor 64, the signal 62, the conductor 66, andback to the other side of the power source 54 through the conductor 60.

As soon as the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 drops to theamount which can be accommodated by the gin stands 20, the cotton willcease to flow out of the overow outlet 19. When this occurs, the paddle48 will return to its normal position, thereby opening the microswitch50. When the switch 50 is opened, the circuits to the motor 38 and tothe signal device 62 are broken. This permits the biasing means toreturn the damper Valve 36 to the fully open position, ,therebyrestoring the vacuum in the pipe 24. As soon as the vacuum is restoredin the pipe 24 and its branches 26 and 28, the ilow of cotton from thewagon W will be resumed. If the operators are not at the wagon when thevacuum is restored, the deenergization of the signal device 62 caused bythe opening of the micro-switch 50 will indicate that the amount ofcotton in the distributor has returned to normal so that they can resumethe feeding of the cotton into the processing equipment.

l In the construction illustrated in Fig. 2, a pressure-sensitive switchis employed in the last hopper of the distributor next to its Voverflowoutlet, to control the operation of the suction fan 32 in the samemanner as` it is controlled by the micro-switch 50 in Fig. 1. Thisconstruction will now be more fully described.

The distributor 18, which receives the cotton from the second separator17, includes a plurality of spaced hoppers 7G, each of which extendsdownwardly to the top of an extractor-feeder 20 disposed below thedistributor. The hopper farthest from the distributor inlet and closetto its overliow outlet is identified in the drawing by the numeral 71.

A helicm conveyer screw 72 extends axially within the distributor 1Sadjacent its bottom portion and conveys the mixed cotton and hulls fromthe distributor inlet to the various hoppers 70 in sequence.

A switch 74, which is of the pressure-sensitive type, is fastened to theupper portion of the wall of the last hopper 71 farthest from the inlet.When this construction is used in place of the paddle constructionpreviously described and shown more particularly in Fig. l, theconductors 56 and 58 are connected to the switch 74 instead of to themicro-switch 50.

In the type of screw feed illustrated, the hopper closest to thedistributor inlet is lled rst, and then, if the irst extractor-feedercannot handle all of the uncleaned cotton entering the distributor, thesecond hopper is lled, and so on, until finally, if there is enoughmaterial entering the distributor, the cotton and hulls will ow into thelast hopper 71 closest to the overflow outlet 19.

When the mixed cotton and hulls entering the last hopper 71 reach thelevel of the switch 74, vthe pressure of the material against the switch74 closes it and completes the circuit to the motor 38 and to the signaldevice 62, as previously described, thereby interrupting the flow ofcotton into the equipment and signaling the operator that more materialis entering it than can be conveniently handled by theextractor-feeders.

When the amount of cotton and hulls in the last hopper 71 drops belowthe level of the switch 74, the latter will open and the feeding of thematerial into the equipment will be resumed.

Thus, it is apparent that there has been provided novel automaticcontrols which fulll all of the objects and advantages sought therefor.When the amount of cotton in the distributor 18 exceeds the amount whichcan be handled by the extractor-feeders and gin stands 2t?, the vacuumin the inlet pipe 24 is interrupted so as to stop the feeding of thecotton into the processing equipment. At the same time, a signal isenergized to warn the operators that more cotton is being fed into theequipment than can be properly handled by it so that they can learn tojudge the capacity of the extractor-feeders and gin stands.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and theaccompanying drawings have been given only by way of illustration andexample, and that changes and alterations in the present disclosure,which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, arecontemplated as within the scope of the present invention, which islimited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A device of the type described, comprising means for processingcotton including a distributor having an overflow outlet; means forcausing the cotton to flow through the processing mea-ns; means forintroducing cotton into the processing means including a suction fan, a

pipe connected to the inlet of the suction fan, and a motor operateddamper valve in the pipe for controlling the tlow of air therethrough;and means for stopping the introduction of cotton into the processingmeans when the quantity of cotton owing from the overow outlet of thedistributor exceeds a predetermined amount, said last named meansincluding a switch responsive to the flow of said predetermined amountof excess cotton, said switch being connected to said motor forcontrolling the operation of said damper valve.

2. A device of the type described, comprising means for processingcotton including a distributor having an overow outlet; means forcausing the cotton to flow through the processing means; means forintroducing cotton into the processing means including a suction fan, apipe connected to the inlet of the suction fan, and a motor operateddamper valve in the pipe for controlling the ow of air therethrough; apaddle pivotally mounted in the outlet; means associated with the paddleto prevent movement of the paddle due to any sudden surges in cottonflow and thereby limit its rate of pivotal movement; and means forstopping the introduction of cotton into the processing means when thecotton flowing past the paddle pivots it to a predetermined position,said last named means including a switch adapted to be actuated by saidpaddle, said switch being connected to said motor for controlling theoperation thereof.

3. A device of the type described, comprising means for processingcotton including a distributor having an overflow outlet; a paddlepivotally mounted in the outlet; a dash-pot connected to the paddle toprevent movement of the paddle due to any sudden surges in cotton flowand ythereby limit its rate of pivotal mov-ement; means for causing thecotton to flow through the processing means; means for introducingcotton into the processing means; and means for stopping theintroduction of cotton into the processing means, said last-named meansbeing responsive to a predetermined minimum of ow of cotton past thepaddle which is of suicient Volume to operate the paddle against thedash-pot.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the distributor has an inlet and aplurality of spaced downwardly extending hoppers including a last onefarthest from the inlet, and in which the switch is pressure sensitiveand is mounted in the last hopper.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the distributor has an inlet and aplurality of spaced downwardly extending hoppers including a last onefartherest from the inlet, and in which the switch is pressure sensitiveand is mounted in the last hopper on its wall farthest from the inlet.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS494,101 Gammons Mar. 21, 1893 601,174 Simington Mar. 22, 1898 1,450,903Newhouse Apr. 3, 1923 1,899,791 Brennen Feb. 28, 1933 2,016,008 HenryOct. 1, 1935 2,060,305 Hagler Nov. 10, 1936 2,119,783 Harrington June 7,1938 2,189,099 Bennett Feb. 6, 1940 2,429,059 Horstkotte Oct. 14, 19472,544,054 Smith Mar. 6, 1951 2,576,543 Smith Nov. 27, 1951

